They had success with a framed print series known as Cupid Awake/Cupid Asleep having moved into metal lithography, which also allowed them to print on wood grained metal sheets. To begin with it manufactured metal picture frames and novelty items for sale in retail stores across America, moving to Bryan, Ohio in 1912. was founded in Archibold, Ohio, USA, in 1908, by Henry Winzeler. He exhibited his prototype at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, in West Germany, in 1959, when it came to the attention of business contacts of the Ohio Art Co. He called his invention L’Ecran Magique, (The Magic Screen). Anything drawn could be erased with a simple shake to redistribute the dust. Pondering on the potential for using what he had observed led him to invent a device with a pointer, that scratched the surface of aluminium dust, leaving a dark line behind it. He noticed that the image transferred to the other side of the decal. While fixing a light switch plate he removed a translucent decal covering from the plate and wrote on it with a pencil. The Lincrusta Company, France, employed André as an electrician in their factory, which produced picture frame covers using aluminium dust. I understand that in France he was much more well known and continued to invent and design for many years, specialising in kites in the 1980s and also designing other drawing devices.Įtch-a-sketch is a relatively simple design, yet a true innovation too.
Living in the UK I cannot recall André Cassagnes being mentioned as the inventor of the Etch-a-sketch, believing it was just an American toy that was very popular. I had planned to do a feature on the Etch-a-sketch at some point, so why not now? As I was preparing some other posts to add to this blog I came across the news that André Cassagnes had died, and it seemed right to set aside a little time to pay tribute to an inventor of such an iconic toy. Aged 86, Mr Cassagnes died on 16th January, 2013, in Paris. in the USA since 1960, but few knew that its inventor was a French man, André Cassagnes. Many families, including mine, had one at some time. Etch-a-sketch is one of the iconic toys of the 20th century, especially popular in the ’60s and ’70s.
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